Films
AISSA’S STORY
SYNOPSIS
Aissatou Bah is an African immigrant housekeeper and single mother recovering from an encounter with Henrik Keppler, a wealthy hotel guest who sexually assaulted her. When the District Attorney decides not to go to trial—due to a lie she told to get asylum—Keppler moves on, a free man, while Aissa is plagued by flashbacks to the assault. But when her daughter Rama gets bullied, Aissa must find a way to regain her daughter’s trust and repair their broken relationship. How will she find justice and her lost dignity?
Aissatou Bah est une femme de ménage immigrée africaine, mère célibataire et la récupération d’une rencontre avec Henrik Keppler, un hôtel riche client qui l’a agressée sexuellement. Lorsque le procureur de district décide de ne pas aller au process—due à un mensonge, elle dit de demandeurs d’asile—Keppler se déplace sur un homme libre , alors que Aissa est en proie à des flashbacks de l’agression. Mais quand sa fille Rama se intimidation, Aissa doit trouver un moyen de regagner la confiance de sa fille et de réparer leur relation brisée. Comment elle trouver la justice et sa dignité perdue?
Logline
An African immigrant housekeeper and single mother must decide whether to move on with her life or fight when the case against her assaulter is dismissed. Inspired by the New York v. Strauss-Kahn case.
CAST
JENNIFER TCHIAKPE, HADIZA ADAM, EBBE BASSEY, DOUG BARRON
CREW
Writer/Director: Iquo B. Essien
Executive Producers: EMEKA OBI, IME LEWIS
Producers: BELYNDA HARDIN, SUE-ELLEN CHITUNYA
Director of Photography: MIKE ROSSETTI
Editors: IQUO B. ESSIEN, TAKAHISA SHIRAISHI
Sound: DAVID GRINBAUM, JOSE FRIAS, AMR SOUND
Costume Design: ENIOLA DAWODU
ADs: PAMELA MORIARTY, CHRISTOPHER ZOU
Full Cast and Crew on IMDB
About The Film
Inspired by the New York v. Strauss-Kahn case, Aissa’s Story is a short film about an African immigrant maid moving on with her life after the case against her assaulter is dismissed. Written and directed by Iquo B. Essien; produced by Emeka Obi, Belynda Hardin, and Sue-Ellen Chitunya; starring Jennifer Tchiakpe, Hadiza Adam, and Ebbe Bassey. Full cast and crew info on IMDB. Running time: 15 mins.
Aissa’s Story is an essential teaching tool for subjects like:
- Gender and immigration
- Immigrant women in popular culture
- Women, sex, and the media
- Race, gender, class, and justice
- “Ideal” vs. “real” victims of sexual violence
- Race, rape, transnationalism, and justice
- Gender-based violence, politics, and power
- Contemporary labor problems
This award-winning short film is also a great addition to all public library collections.
Purchase
INSTITUTIONAL USE
Aissa’s Story is available in English and French, with English and French subtitles, as a DVD with a public performance license, or for screenings at universities, colleges, nonprofit groups, and libraries worldwide. Running time is 15 minutes. Be advised the film contains mature sexual themes and sexual violence. For purchase or screening requests, including in-person Q&A, contact the director. Download the discussion guide.
WORLD SALES
Contact the director for television licensing, theatrical distribution, festival enquiries, interview requests, speaking engagements, and other matters.
PERSONAL USE
Aissa’s Story is available for purchase, stream, or download on Amazon Instant Video in the United States and U.S. territories. If you live elsewhere, please contact the director for purchase.
Awards
Aissa’s Story was nominated for the 2013 Student Academy Awards, 2015 Africa Movie Academy Awards, and the 2015 Panafrican Film & Television Festival of Ouagadougou. It has screened at prestigious global festivals including the Durban International Film Festival, New York African Film Festival, Africa International Film Festival (Best Student Short), Ecrans Noir, and bfm International Film Festival.
We are currently in development on a feature-length version of the film with support from the Spike Lee Film Production Fund. Visit Fractured Atlas, our fiscal sponsor, to make a tax-deductible donation. Thanks to our Indiegogo donors for supporting the short film.
Reviews
ABOSEDE GEORGE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND AFRICANA STUDIES, BARNARD COLLEGE“In Essien’s fictional character we find a figure that may or may not be an economic migrant, a rape survivor, a project and/or product of neoliberal and/or humanitarian regimes, or some combination of any of the above.”
DIANA EROMOSELE
THE ROOT“Aissa’s Story brilliantly shows that these situations are never cut-and-dried, especially when the judicial system and public opinion can be swayed by money, and stereotypes can suffocate and blur the truth.”
STUDENT
BARUCH COLLEGE“When I first read about the DSK case, I had not imagined the hotel worker as a victim…I think it was more the dynamic with her daughter that let me see Aissa’s character as a person who had to come home to her family and fight not only her own battle, but theirs as well.”
CLAIRE DIAO
FILM CRITIC AND AUTHOR, DOUBLE VAGUE“A brilliant depiction of a modern interpretation of the David and Goliath story, where the richest remains the winner, but the poorer pursues their fight for dignity.”